Published on 25 Mar 2025

Ethiopia expands defence capabilities with homemade drones

New factory targets both domestic and export demand

Ethioipia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at Skywin Aeronautics Industries. Photo source: Ethiopian News Agency

In what can only be described as a significant step towards acquiring self-sufficiency in defence technology Ethiopia has set up a production facility to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both the domestic and export markets.

The facility established by the state-run SkyWin Aeronautics Industries in the capital Addis Ababa is expected to produce a wide variety of drones that can be deployed for intelligence gathering, surveillance, defence, and offensive operations. The drone initiative is part of a broader modernisation of national defence sector. Ethiopia, which boasts of fielding one of the largest and most effective standing army in Africa has deployed drones extensively in recent domestic conflicts – most notably during the bloody civil war in 2021 when Chinese-made Wing Lonng drones supplied by the UAE succeeded in turning the tide against Tigrayan forces who were threatening to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and take over the capital Addis Ababa.

Wing Loong drone. Photo source: Wikipedia

Since coming to power in 2018, Abiy has pursued security sector reforms aimed at modernising Ethiopia’s military, police, and intelligence capabilities. Days before unveiling the factory, he visited the Homicho Ammunition Engineering Complex and announced that Ethiopia had generated US$30m from the export of ammunition over the past three months. Ethiopia has particularly strengthened its military ties with China through an agreement covering weapons technology transfer, capacity building, and joint production of military equipment. The deal includes Ethiopia’s acquisition of China’s CH-7 stealth drones.

Besides China, Ethiopian armed forces have also relied on drones acquired from Turkey and Iran to quell unrest in other parts of the country as well. Although a 2022 peace agreement between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ended the two-year civil war, clashes between Ethiopian forces and rebels persist in the Oromia and Amhara regions. Fear of a new round of conflict between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea have also emerged. During the civil war, Eritrean forces crossed into the Tigray region to fight alongside Ethiopia’s federal army against the TPLF. However, the peace deal signed in 2022 excluded Eritrea from negotiations, creating a rift between the two countries. Since then, the TPLF-led interim administration in Tigray has fractured sparking fears of a new round of conflict that could see Ethiopia and Eritrea backing rival factions of the TPLF.

References

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'X post', Abiy Ahmed Ali, 08 March 2025

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